Burnley deaths: Heartfelt tributes to 'well-liked, kind and brilliant' Dr Saman Sacharvi and her 'outstanding student' daughter Vian

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that Dr Saman Sacharvi was a Trust-grade junior doctor with the specialist perinatal community mental health team since February 2020 and had most recently been based at the Trust’s Daisyfield site in Blackburn.

While her 14-year-old daughter, Vian Mangrio, has been described as a "popular and outstanding student" by her headteacher at Marsden Heights Community College in Brierfield.

Perinatal Lead Consultant, Gill Strachan, paid tribute to her colleague who was "a joy to work with"

She said: “Dr Sacharvi fitted in well with the team. She was approachable, diligent and had formed good working relationships with the team. She was empathic and well-liked by the women and families that she worked with. Her colleagues described her as very kind, brilliant and a joy to work with.

"During lockdown when Covid-19 restrictions were in place, she went out of her way to support the care of women, personally delivering prescriptions to women isolating at home. The team are shocked and saddened, and she will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with family and friends at this very sad time.”

Vian's school and teaching staff have been left shocked and heartbroken by her untimely death.

Headteacher of Marsden Heights Community College, Miss Alyson Littlewood, said in a poignant statement: "We are shocked and heartbroken by the tragic deaths of Vian and her mother and our whole school is mourning the loss of two much-loved members of our community.

"Vian was an outstanding student. She had that wonderful mix of academic ability coupled with an enthusiasm for everything else that school can offer. She was very popular and was involved in a whole range of school activities. She was extremely supportive of her friends, was generous to all and had a smile that could fill a room.

"We were all very fortunate to have her in our lives and we will miss her on a daily basis”.

Police are continuing to question two Burnley men on suspicion of murder after the bodies of Dr Saman Sacharvi and her daughter, Vian Mangrio were found in a Reedley house on Colne Road.

The two men, aged 51 and 56, were detained shortly after 7pm yesteday evening (Sunday).

Both were arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder, two of rape and one of arson with intent to endanger life.

The arrest come after detectives issued a plea for information following the discovery of two bodies at a house in Reedley.

Police were initially called at around 8-45am on Thursday to a report of concern for the safety of the occupants of an address in Colne Road.

When officers attended they found the bodies of two females, as well as evidence of smoke and fire damage inside the address.

A Home Office post-mortem has since revealed Dr Sacharvi died as a result of pressure to the neck. She had also suffered an assault.

Although the post-mortem investigation remains ongoing for Miss Mangrio, so police cannot give a cause of death, they can confirm she was found badly burnt inside the address.

Dr Sacharvi and Miss Mangrio’s next of kin are being supported by specially trained offices.

Det Supt Jon Holmes, Head of Major Crime at Lancashire Police, said yesterday: “We are on with a number of lines of enquiry and this evening we have made two arrests.

“However, this is a live investigation and we continue to ask anyone with any information to get in touch with us.

"Perhaps you have been in the Colne Road area recently and have seen something suspicious. Maybe you have CCTV or dashcam footage which could contain something useful. Or perhaps you think you know who is responsible. Whatever information you have, we would urge you to get in touch, even if you think what you know is insignificant.

“Finally, our thoughts remains with Dr Sacharvi and Miss Mangrio’s family and friends at this awful time and we send them our deepest condolences. We have a team of detectives dedicated to the investigation and we will leave no stone unturned.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police as soon as possible through the dedicated Major Incident Portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020119P01-PO1 or on 101, quoting log 0429 of October 3rd.

Alternatively independent charity Crimestoppers can be reached anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.